Mongol what?

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In 2011 I decided to go on an exciting adventure. Together with my partner at the time, I drove from the UK to Mongolia - over 13,000 miles in less than 3 months. We were participating in a big project called the Mongol Rally, where hundreds of teams in all sorts of different vehicles make this epic journey across the world to raise money for charity (and have lots of fun). Our vehicle was a Mercedes Sprinter 312D ambulance that had over 200,000 miles on the clock (with a mileage like that, what's 13,000 more!).

Ever since I joined Steemit I've been bubbling with excitement about how best to share all the adventures I had on that truly life-changing journey. I have so many wonderful images to share, so I've decided to go with a mix of stories and images, memories and textures. As with all memories, they seem to come to me when they feel like it. So these posts aren't going to be shoe-horned into something chronological; I'm just going to roll with it however it flows and try my best to communicate the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of these wonderful and remote parts of the world.

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Introducing Bertha

So here she is, our trusty steed (and my parents recording the moment for posterity just before we set off). My partner did so much research about what would be the best vehicle to take, and I've got to say he did an excellent job. The worst thing that happened to the van was that we got a flat tyre.

Yes, you read that right : 13,000 miles, many of which were off-road, through rivers, up mountains, through scary-ass potholed pitch black tunnels (that's gonna be a good post!), and the WORST thing that happened to the van was a flat tyre.

Granted, the flat tyre did happen in a military zone on the Tajik border with soldiers pointing guns at us, but by that stage in the journey we'd become pretty skilled at the appropriate gesticulations for "please don't kill us!".

We were so very fond of this van, our home for the whole trip, and we were extremely sad to part with her. But a central part of the Mongol Rally, which is ultimately a charity project, is that your vehicle (or what's left of it!) gets donated to charity when you reach Mongolia. Bertha still contained 2 working stretchers (yes, those were our beds!) and all the fixtures for attaching oxygen tanks, so we dearly hoped she would continue to be used as an ambulance. Her actual fate though is a mystery!

^{Bertha on top of the world}

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Stay tuned for my first post, on the dusty desert highway in the Pamir mountains of Central Asia!

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And check out my blog for a selection of my favourite photos from travels all around the world, recently featured on the Ladies of Steemit curation initiative: https://steemit.com/ladiesofsteemit/@ladiesofsteemit/ladies-of-steemit-volume-3-or-the-female-perspective